News for today's 2018

Driver Tasered After 101 mph Car Chase, Police Say

10:18 AM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img src="http://o4.aolcdn.com/dims-shared/dims3/PATCH/resize/273x203/http://hss-prod.hss.aol.com/hss/storage/patch/b92b8d321b5836eb335c3a67c8f7782c" /><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px;">Police say they had to taser a Bushkill Towship man who passed them a 101 mph in a wild car chase. He may have been high on bath salts.</span><br /><br /><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Sirens, tire spikes and a crashed car apparently weren't enough to stop an <a href="http://www.easton.patch.com/" style="border: 0px; color: #0044aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Easton </a>man accused of leading state police on a chase through Bushkill Township.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Instead, it took a taser to bring down Mark Nichols, who was allegedly on bath salts when he passed them doing 101 mph Wednesday night.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">A police affadavit gives the following account:</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">State troopers from the Belfast barracks saw Nichols, 29, of 46 N. Sixth St., speeding south on Route 33 in Bushkill Township around 8:30 p.m.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">The troopers flashed their lights and sounded their siren to get Nichols to stop, but he kept driving, getting off the highway and making his way to Route 512.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">At one point, police put down tire spikes in the road to stop Nichols. The spikes chewed through three of his tires, but he kept going.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Police say Nichols lost control of his car, crashing into the deck at a home on Redstone Drive.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Nichols got out of the car and began to run, and police took him down with a Taser, the affadavit says.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Police found a bag containing a substance that turned out to be methamphetamine near the scene of the crash, and said Nichols also smelled of marijuana.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Investigators eventually determined Nichols had been high on bath salts at the time of the case. He was charged with fleeing/eluding police, criminal mischief, multiple counts of driving while under the influence and numerous traffic violations.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #333333; font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 0.714em; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Nichols was arraigned before on-duty <a href="http://easton.patch.com/listings/district-judge-richard-yetter-8536b4f0" style="border: 0px; color: #0044aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">District Judge Richard Yetter</a>, and sent to <a href="http://easton.patch.com/listings/northampton-county-department-of-corrections" style="border: 0px; color: #0044aa; cursor: pointer; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Northampton County Prison</a> in lieu of $65,000 bail.</div></div>

Chase Driver Tasered After 101 mph Car Chase, Police Say

Police say they had to taser a Bushkill Towship man who passed them a 101 mph in a wild car chase. He may have been high on bath salts. Sire...

SPAIN'S ECONOMIC CRISIS...

8:50 AM Tukiyooo 0

<br /> <br /><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"> <span style="font-size: x-large;">..... HAS AN UNEXPECTED VICTIM: JOURNALISM </span></span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 1;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-font-kerning: 18.0pt;"><br /></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 3;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The Spanish media has been ravaged by the country's recession, and not just economically. The crisis has also sparked serious challenges to its credibility.</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">By Andrés Cala</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In SPAIN’S transformational economic crisis, no industry has escaped unscathed. But one of the biggest casualties is an unusual one: journalism.<a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6896989063397229776" name="nextParagraph"></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Thousands of jobs have been lost and dozens of outlets have been shut down, denying newsrooms of some of its most veteran and talented professionals.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">And the SPANISH media isn't just hurting in terms of raw numbers – it's also taken hits to its most valued asset: credibility.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Beyond a doubt, this is the worst crisis SPANISH journalism has endured so far,” says Elsa González, president of the Federation of SPANISH Journalist Association. “We have to regain the trust of society that we have lost to a great extent.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">JOURNALISTS EASY PREY TO MAINLY CORPORATE PRESSURE</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It’s not just the expected result of citizens’ loss of institutional trust amid the grueling global economic crisis. Increased politicization and institutional weakness are making journalists easy prey to government and corporate pressure, experts say, leading to blatant cases of political and corporate manipulation and serious editorial mistakes in even the most reputable publications and broadcasters.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">In fact, SPANIARDS trust journalists just a sliver more than lawyers, according to a poll released Feb. 20. Only 53 percent of SPANIARDS say journalists are honest, compared to 51 percent for lawyers, 80 percent for police, 88 percent for teachers, and more than 90 percent for health professionals. Bankers and members of parliament came in at 12 percent and 11 percent respectively.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">MEDIA COMPANIES IN SPAIN ARE CONTROLLED BY CORPORATELY OWNED BY BANKS, LARGE CORPORATE TYCOONS, AND EVEN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Reporters should be addressing society’s concerns, and they shouldn’t be as conditioned by their sources and the owners of their companies, but we are witnessing the opposite,” says Ramón Salaverría, director of journalistic projects in the School of Communication of Navarra University, and expert on industry trends. “Outlets are more interested in their corporate results than in their public.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">To make things worse, media companies in SPAIN are either controlled by the government, or corporately owned by banks, large corporate tycoons, and even the Catholic Church. “From that point of view, [society] feels media companies lack independence of vested interests, and respond to ideological and economic clientlism.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The economic crisis and resulting transformation of SPANISH society are further alienating journalists, Mrs. González says. “Journalists are taking part in the country’s radicalization. The politicization is illustrated especially in the absence of transparency as a result of the weakness of journalism. [Journalists] ascribe to different sides because they have no other choice.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6896989063397229776" name="eztoc15136641_1"></a><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">LAYOFFS AND ERRORS</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“The errors and lost credibility are not a coincidence,” says Dr. Salaverría. “You can’t do good journalism without good journalists.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Between 2008 and 2012, nearly 10,000 journalists lost their jobs, almost half of them in 2012, and 73 outlets shut down. The top editorial teams of every major news organization were “beheaded,” González of the journalist federation says. “The biggest enemy of independence is unemployment and precariousness, always waiting to be fired.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The average age in SPANISH newsrooms has plummeted since the beginning of the crisis to the early 30s, Salaverría says, from late 40s. As corporate revenue shrinks and stock prices plummet, companies “are leaving newsrooms without teachers, with few flight hours.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The most embarrassing – and telling – case involved the world’s most read newspaper in Spanish and Spain’s most respected daily: EL Pais. On Jan. 4, the newspaper made “one of the most serious mistakes of its history,” as it admitted in a story tracing in detail the makings of its error.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">El País published a front page picture which allegedly showed VENEZUELAN President Hugo Chavez with a tube connected through his mouth. Mr. Chávez has been receiving treatment for cancer, and his condition has been kept under tight wraps by his government. Uncovering and publishing evidence of his current status, like the picture, would be a media coup.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But the picture turned out to be a fake provided by an agency. Most printed copies were collected throughout the country before they hit stands, and the newspaper immediately apologized and reprinted a new edition at a cost of 225,000 EUR, it said.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">The VENEZUELAN government has yet to take legal action, as it threatened. Nonetheless, being called out for shoddy screening on such a high-profile topic is a major black eye to El País.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=6896989063397229776" name="eztoc15136641_2"></a><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">INCREASED STATE INFLUENCE</span></b></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto; mso-outline-level: 2;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">But the biggest concern is editorial manipulation from government-financed public television and radio, one of the most popular sources of information in SPAIN that is legally mandated to reflect balanced content representing all SPANIARDS.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Regional and national governments have historically and readily imposed political agendas on the media they control, with swinging editorial lines depending on what party is in power. But amid the crisis, manipulation has been blatant. Journalists have denounced pressure, and reader complaints and legal suits against media outlets have increased.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Independent media companies are more subtle, but like in the rest of EUROPE, they are heavily ideologically biased, and allegiances to political parties are obvious, a lot more so than in the US.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">It has come to the point that protestors increasingly decry journalists’ ties to the elite in almost daily anti-austerity rallies, at times violently.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">Another rising concern is corporate ability to influence reporters, either directly through coercion by threatening vital advertising, or indirectly by bullying journalists into self-censorship, experts say.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Editors are favoring profit-making and boosting their audience. And amid the loss of credibility, companies have not invested in journalistic rigor,” González says.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; mso-margin-bottom-alt: auto; mso-margin-top-alt: auto;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman";">“Are we meeting the demands of society?” she asked. “Not so much in some cases.”</span></div>

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Matt Said, Jay Said...$400

9:00 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Matt:  Yeah, what do you want?<br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6cNAjh1uxi1-TfczM7WWAUzMNDDmuiKL2S8_WUhJOGOz-l-nI65Pbxtu2hrTMCHjpZ2mxx8mfsauwD_EA96MMBlRjopQvYyDUJCtRTyu3fnHH4-aeaiRBZ6WRz16xlC_eKgeWpuzh9AE/s1600/Tamra+4th+of+July+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6cNAjh1uxi1-TfczM7WWAUzMNDDmuiKL2S8_WUhJOGOz-l-nI65Pbxtu2hrTMCHjpZ2mxx8mfsauwD_EA96MMBlRjopQvYyDUJCtRTyu3fnHH4-aeaiRBZ6WRz16xlC_eKgeWpuzh9AE/s400/Tamra+4th+of+July+2.jpg" width="195" /></a>Jay:  Y’know?  You’re always trying to be “edgy” when you answer the phone even though you know it’s me.<br />Matt: I can’t help it.<br />Jay:  Well stop it.  Just answer the phone like a normal person.<br />Matt:  I’m sorry…Should we start over?<br />Jay:  Yes…Hang up and I’ll call back.<br />Matt:  Otay.<br /><br />Matt:  Hello?  You've reached Bi-Sexual Records, Clive Davis speaking…<br />Jay:  See?  That was much better, and didn't it feel good?<br />Matt:  Eh, it felt okay.  I could go either way on that.<br />Jay:  Ha Haaaaaaaaa, aren't you clever?<br />Matt:  Not really.<br />Jay:  You are correct, but that was a rhetorical question.<br />Matt:  I know; I get your freaky mind games, Mister Man.<br />Jay:  I’m a playa.<br /><br />Matt:  Anyhoo…Oh hell Jayman, Angry Mailman is here, and he may have some good tidings for us.<br />Jay:  Well, quit peeing yourself and go check.<br />Matt:  Jayman…It came!!  It came!!<br />Jay:  Oh c’mon dude; I don’t need to know that, especially if it came while talking to me.<br />Matt:  No you dumbass, not my cock, OUR IWS check!!<br /><br />Jay:  Ohhhhhhhhh Helllll Yeahhhhhh….I think I just came.<br />Matt:  Sounded like it…Can you believe this?  We got the check.  We’re going to go Premium on BTR!!<br />Jay:  We’ll have like unlimited time and unlimited file uploads now.  We’re gonna fuck with some people.<br />Matt:  Oh c’mon…This is not a license to thoroughly make fun of people who are jerks…….<br /><br />Matt and Jay:  HaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHa…The Hell it isn't!!<br /><br />Jay:  We’ll start with Logan Knight.  She made fun of our incredibly sweet and hot IWS gal pal Tamra last night.<br />Matt:  Oh hell yes…That Logan chick is a dead cunt walking.<br />Jay:  You said, “cunt” that may be a bit much.  I mean, she is, but…<br />Matt:  Okay…well…no…yeah, she’s a cunt.<br />Jay:  I agree, but well…should we use that word to describe another human being?<br />Matt:  Logan Knight made fun of sweet Tamra…Logan is NOT a human being.<br />Jay:  Word.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlySkGrk_HotKBnG8dVqcQYC6fe8muihn5XvYQpdexeqpOQSZa4hF5XY2Kon-a5yKu1qu13qB8wY5TOldHNG4R3vQpmKqwvnxZlCr1aJXuAQShLN9N9uJ3pT2TSzj5R-pG5hWwyEz9LQ/s1600/Tamra+IWS.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWlySkGrk_HotKBnG8dVqcQYC6fe8muihn5XvYQpdexeqpOQSZa4hF5XY2Kon-a5yKu1qu13qB8wY5TOldHNG4R3vQpmKqwvnxZlCr1aJXuAQShLN9N9uJ3pT2TSzj5R-pG5hWwyEz9LQ/s400/Tamra+IWS.jpg" width="308" /></a>Matt:  Man…we throw out the cunt word today as we did last Wednesday; should we reflect on what we say?<br />Jay:  You mean as far as what we say on the air and write on the blog?<br />Matt:  Yeah…Do we sometimes cross this nebulous and ever-moving line of what is okay and what is not?<br />Jay:  What the fuck ever? Why the fuck not?  Let’s talk the fuck about being offensive on Saturday.<br /><br />Matt:  I think I’m with you.<br />Jay:  You better be the fuck with me, you cunt.<br />Matt:  Jay….Jay…Jay stop it.<br />Jay:  I’m sorry…I am a method acting international internet radio star, and I was getting into character.<br />Matt:  Quite understandable.<br />Jay:  Sorry.<br /><br />Matt:  I think we are ready, annnnnnnd we can rip McMImports for not sponsoring us.<br />Jay:  Y’know…I was just calming down and you brought those Bulgarian Bastards up.<br />Matt:  Easy…We can talk about them tonight.<br />Jay:  Alright….Alright…I’m alright.<br />Matt:  Bye Jayman.<br />Jay:  What the fuck ever.<br /><br />And catch us tonight on BTR as we discuss does comedy ever cross the line and the new horizons that IWS will be taking.  You can catch it all tonight LIVE at 11 PM ET TONIGHT right <a href="http://www.blogtalkradio.com/im-with-stupid/2013/03/03/crossing-the-line" target="_blank"><i><span style="color: blue;">HERE!!</span></i></a></div>

Matt Said, Jay Said...$400

Matt: Yeah, what do you want? Jay: Y’know? You’re always trying to be “edgy” when you answer the phone even though you know it’s me. Matt...

Kim Kardashian Loves Expectant Moms Parking Spots!

8:31 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><br /><div class="lead-img" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: center;"><img alt="Kim Kardashian Loves Expectant Moms Parking Spots!" class="alignleft " pxz:uid="1230e31789b-1" src="http://cdn02.cdn.justjared.com/wp-content/uploads/headlines/2013/03/kim-kardashian-loves-expectant-mom-parking-spots.jpg" style="float: left; margin: 0px 25px 5px 0px; padding: 0px 0px 15px;" /></div><div class="entry" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.4em;"><div style="font-size: 1.05em;"></div><h1 class="paddingL10" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(158, 135, 113); border-style: none none solid; border-width: 0px 0px 1px; color: black; font-family: 'Droid Serif', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 28px; line-height: 1.2; margin: 0px; outline-style: none; padding-bottom: 15px; padding-left: 10px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Kim Kardashian Has Figured Out the Secret to Not Looking Pregnant</h1><div><div style="font-size: 1.05em;"><a href="http://www.justjared.com/tags/kim-kardashian" style="color: #1a9dfe; text-decoration: none;" title="Kim Kardashian"><strong>Kim Kardashian</strong></a> wears a pink blazer while checking out her new home on Friday (March 1) in Los Angeles.</div><div style="font-size: 1.05em;">Earlier in the day, the 32-year-old reality star kept her bag in front of her<a href="http://www.justjared.com/tags/pregnant-celebrities" style="color: #1a9dfe; text-decoration: none;" title="Pregnant Celebrities"><strong>pregnant</strong></a> belly while out and about with her mom <a href="http://www.justjared.com/tags/kris-jenner" style="color: #1a9dfe; text-decoration: none;" title="Kris Jenner"><strong>Kris Jenner</strong></a>.</div><div style="font-size: 1.05em;">The twosome grabbed breakfast at Jenky’s Cafe before hitting the gym for a workout.</div><div style="font-size: 1.05em;"><strong>Kim</strong> recently posted a <a class="external" href="http://instagram.com/p/WS_JtEuS20/" rel="external" style="color: #1a9dfe; text-decoration: none;">picture</a> of an “Expectant Moms” parking spot and wrote, “Is this real!?! Life just got a little easier! #FrontRowParking.”</div><div style="font-size: 1.05em;">30+ pictures inside of <strong>Kim Kardashian</strong>spending time with her mom…</div></div><div><br /></div><div><div style="border: 0px none; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1em; outline-style: none; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">You guys, I'm not sure what exactly is going on, but <a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-style/news/kim-kardashian-models-favorite-pregnancy-look-says-its-so-awkward-to-dress-her-baby-bump-201313" style="border: 0px none; color: #d05a86; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank"><strong style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Kim Kardashian</strong>'s latest maternity ensemble</a> makes it look like she's not even<strong style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">pregnant</strong>. And now I'm totally confused.</div><div style="border: 0px none; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">No, I'm not suggesting she's pulling a fast one on us and faking her pregnancy or anything crazy like that -- but she's definitely figured out some sort of trick to making<strong style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">maternity clothes</strong> work in her favor.</div><div style="border: 0px none; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Just last week, Kim wore that crazy <a href="http://thestir.cafemom.com/pregnancy/151603/kim_kardashians_pregnant_body_doubles" style="border: 0px none; color: #d05a86; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">black and white cookie looking dress</a> that made her look twice the size that she actually is. But then this week, she throws on <a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-style/news/kim-kardashian-models-favorite-pregnancy-look-says-its-so-awkward-to-dress-her-baby-bump-201313" style="border: 0px none; color: #d05a86; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">white jeans, a pretty camisole, and a long cardigan</a> -- and now she looks like pre-preggo Kim Kardashian.</div><div style="border: 0px none; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Again, what the heck is going on, here?</div><div style="border: 0px none; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Even Kim admits that she doesn't look pregnant in this outfit, and calls it her "<strong style="border: 0px none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">favorite pregnancy look</strong>" to date.</div><div style="border: 0px none; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">And it's easy to see why. This is one of the most flattering things she's ever worn, period -- let alone what she's worn thus far during her pregnancy.</div><div style="border: 0px none; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Wow. Who knew that by simply changing your clothes, you can go from being the big pregnant chick to the cute pregnant chick in a matter of a few days -- or possibly even a few hours or minutes?!?</div><div style="border: 0px none; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Hmm. Now that I think about it, I guess there were a few maternity outfits I felt much more confident and attractive wearing than some of my other clothes when I was pregnant with my son.</div><div style="border: 0px none; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">I mean, there was no mistaking the fact that I was pregnant, because I was as big as a house -- but certain clothes definitely made me seem less "out there."</div><div style="border: 0px none; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">And if Kim has found a look that works for her, my advice to her is to stick to it, and not deviate too far off the beaten path -- otherwise she may wind up with another black and white cookie disaster.</div><div style="border: 0px none; color: black; font-family: arial; font-size: 14px; line-height: 25px; margin-bottom: 1em; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">(And nobody wants that.)</div></div></div></div>

Kim Kardashian Kim Kardashian Loves Expectant Moms Parking Spots!

Kim Kardashian Has Figured Out the Secret to Not Looking Pregnant Kim Kardashian wears a pink blazer while checking out her new home on Fri...

Domino's Aims to Be the Big Cheese with Global Expansion

8:27 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img src="http://www.brandchannel.com/home/image.axd?picture=2013%2f3%2fdominos-560.jpg" /><br /><br /><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.649999618530273px; padding: 0.5em 0px;">Domino's Pizza is living as large as one of its new, fresh-dough pan pizzas these days, <a href="http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=135383&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1790438&highlight=" style="border: 0px; color: #0066cc; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;" target="_blank">posting</a>strong domestic and international growth and planning to <a href="http://nrn.com/latest-headlines/dominos-pizza-increase-national-ad-spending" style="border: 0px; color: #0066cc; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;" target="_blank">garner extra funds</a> from franchisees for marketing this year to support its increasingly robust brand platform.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.649999618530273px; padding: 0.5em 0px;">CEO J. Patrick Doyle has managed to get Domino's into a growth groove by relying on its increasing international presence, rising brand equity, expanding menu, store modernization and experimentation and an industry-leading digitization initiative. Same-store sales in both the U.S. and abroad were up by about 5 percent during the fourth quarter versus a year ago, Domino's<a href="http://phx.corporate-ir.net/phoenix.zhtml?c=135383&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1790438&highlight=" style="border: 0px; color: #0066cc; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;" target="_blank">reported</a> this week, and the period marked the 76th consecutive quarter of international same-store sales growth.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.649999618530273px; padding: 0.5em 0px;">"The joy of pizza is that bread, sauce and cheese works fundamentally everywhere, except maybe China, where dairy wasn't a big part of their diet until lately," Doyle told <strong style="border: 0px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">brandchannel. </strong>"And it's easy to just change toppings market to market."</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.649999618530273px; padding: 0.5em 0px;"></div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.649999618530273px; padding: 0.5em 0px;">International operations are the biggest growth engine for Domino's also in part because the pizza industry faces U.S. saturation. The Ann Arbor, Mich.-based chain opened its 10,000th store last year, and the site was Istanbul.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.649999618530273px; padding: 0.5em 0px;">In the U.S., though Domino's already is the leading pizza-delivery brand. Doyle is pursing a number of tactics for attempting to steal share from overall U.S. No. 1 Pizza Hut, No. 3 Papa John's and various regional and independent players.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.649999618530273px; padding: 0.5em 0px;">They have included a complete remake of the brand over the last few years, starting with an<a href="http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2010/01/05/Is-The-Dominos-Rebrand-Too-Honest.aspx" style="border: 0px; color: #0066cc; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;" target="_blank">admission</a> that the pizza didn't taste all that good, unfolding in a series of TV ads starring Doyle himself. Domino's new Handmade Pan Pizza is its first non-frozen entry in the segment, which is a strong area for its competitors. Also, Domino's and franchisees are testing new<a href="http://seattletimes.com/html/businesstechnology/2020294669_dominoscarryoutxml.html" style="border: 0px; color: #0066cc; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; white-space: nowrap;" target="_blank">"pizza-theater" concepts</a> in outlets around the country that feature an open view of the kitchen, big-screen TVs and a wall-to-wall chalkboard for patrons to scrawl their praises—or complaints.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.649999618530273px; padding: 0.5em 0px;">Another important initiative is for Domino's to rely on what the CEO says is an industry-leading online-ordering capability, which is increasingly crucial for Domino's not only to compete with other major brands but to exercise a huge advantage over small outfits.</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.649999618530273px; padding: 0.5em 0px;">"It's a better customer experience," Doyle said about online ordering, which now comprises about 40 percent of Domino's orders in the U.S. and about 58 percent in the U.K. "Online is where people are and want to be anyway. They've got the whole menu in front of them. They can take their time in ordering without one of our guys on the other end of the phone line maybe sounding impatient. And the accuracy of the orders is higher."</div><div style="background-color: white; border: 0px; color: #444444; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.649999618530273px; padding: 0.5em 0px;">"It's not just about [customers'] preference for a digital experience: They believe the pizza tastes better when they get it, too!"</div><div><br /></div></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/AH5R56jILag?feature=player_embedded" width="640"></iframe></div>

Domino's Domino's Aims to Be the Big Cheese with Global Expansion

Domino's Pizza is living as large as one of its new, fresh-dough pan pizzas these days, posting strong domestic and international growt...

Justin Bieber gets his birthday on — and shirt off — in London

8:25 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><iframe frameborder="0" height="400" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://widget.newsinc.com/single.html?WID=1&VID=24511131&freewheel=69016&sitesection=selatimes&w=600&h=400" width="600"></iframe><br /><br /><div class="small" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 11px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">Traveling back to London after his Birmingham gig, Justin Bieber kicked off his 19th birthday celebrations shirtless with his rumored girlfriend Ella-Paige</div><span class="toolSet" style="background-color: white; display: inline-block; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; margin-bottom: 14px; margin-right: -50px; margin-top: 6px; width: 345px;"><div class="byline" style="color: #292727; float: left; font-size: 13px; margin: 0px 0px 12px; padding: 0px;"><span class="byline" style="display: block;">By Nardine Saad</span><div class="date" style="color: #930000; font-size: 11px; font-style: italic; margin-top: 3px; padding: 0px;"><span class="dateString" style="display: inline;">March 1, 2013</span><span class="dateTimeSeparator" style="border-left-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1px; color: white; display: inline; font-size: 10px; letter-spacing: -1px; margin-left: 6px;">, </span><span class="timeString" style="display: inline; text-transform: lowercase;">11:13 a.m.</span></div></div><div class="clear" style="clear: both; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></div></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px;"></span><div id="story-body-text" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.43; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;"><a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/entertainment/music/justin-bieber-PECLB000005153.topic" id="PECLB000005153" style="color: #666666; text-decoration: none;" title="Justin Bieber">Justin Bieber</a> is 19 and, for the first round of his birthday celebration, stripped down to show off his trim body.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">Because that's exactly what you do when you get a year older, right. Right?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">"Great show! Now gonna go celebrate 19! Thanks," the birthday boy <a href="https://twitter.com/justinbieber/status/307272933406019585" style="color: #2262cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">tweeted</a> late Thursday about his "Believe" tour performance in Birmingham, England, before heading out to party.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">The "Beauty and the Beat" singer left the show clothed but arrived at his London hotel shirtless, with his tighty whities in full view above his sagging blue leather pants. The Daily Mail<a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2286330/Justin-Bieber-parties-6-30am-celebrates-19th-birthday-Ella-Paige-Roberts-Clarke-bevy-beauties.html" style="color: #2262cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">reports</a> that the capital was facing frigid temperatures at the time, but apparently, the Biebs is weather-resistant.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">(Also, we genuinely thought sagging pants were a thing of the '90s, but Bieber is single-pantedly trying to bring back that heinous trend. Keep your pants on, boys! And don't even get us started on that ridiculous yellow, studded trucker hat. Where is this boy's stylist?!)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">Manager Scooter Braun <a href="http://www.accesshollywood.com/scooter-braun-explains-justin-biebers-shirtless-night-in-london_article_76403" style="color: #2262cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">explained</a> the ensemble to "Access Hollywood Live" on Friday. "He was coming right off the stage — the show was done. He was coming off the stage and going to the hotel and he was literally running in because he wanted to get changed and go right out."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">Braun had no real excuse for the droopy drawers, however. "I think anyone over 25 can’t pull it off — actually over 20," he said, laughing. "He’s got one more year."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">Bieber later emerged from his hotel in a cream cardigan, black T-shirt and low-slung black leather pants as he headed out to a club to celebrate his birthday, Us Weekly <a href="http://www.usmagazine.com/celebrity-news/news/justin-bieber-celebrates-his-birthday-shirtless-parties-until-6-am-pictures-201313" style="color: #2262cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">reported</a>.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">He arrived at BLC, an after-hours, members-only club, and was joined by British singer Ella-Paige Roberts Clarke and "a harem of other ladies," the Daily Mail said. After partying the night away, Bieber and the ladies hit a Lebanese spot for early morning snacks, then Bieber headed back to his hotel for some shut-eye at 6:30 a.m.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">He'll need it because Round 2 of the festivities involves <a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/3am/celebrity-news/justin-bieber-19th-birthday-party-1736768" style="color: #2262cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">a circus-themed party</a> in London and a budget of $15,000, the Mirror reported.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">"Spoke to the kid and wished him happy bday. He is gonna go hard tonight and well deserved.<span class="twitter-atreply pretty-link">@justinbieber</span> enjoy your day! Happy 19th Bday!!" Braun <a href="https://twitter.com/scooterbraun/status/307306800984772608" style="color: #2262cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">tweeted</a>. Last year, Braun gifted Bieber with <a href="http://articles.latimes.com/2012/mar/01/business/la-fi-tn-justin-bieber-fisker-karma-20120301" style="color: #2262cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">a $100,000 Fisker Karma</a> for his 18th birthday.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">Bieber <a href="https://twitter.com/justinbieber/status/307526509457985536" style="color: #2262cc; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">continued to tweet</a> about his big plans early Friday, which is his actual birthday.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">Ah, to be young and filthy rich ...</div></div></div>

Justin Bieber Justin Bieber gets his birthday on — and shirt off — in London

Traveling back to London after his Birmingham gig, Justin Bieber kicked off his 19th birthday celebrations shirtless with his rumored girlfr...

Papa John’s Buffalo Chicken Pizza

8:20 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><div id="mi_story_detail_top" style="background-color: white; color: #272727; float: left; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div id="story_header" style="clear: both; float: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; width: 616px;"><h1 id="story_headline" style="color: #1c5886; font-size: 2.6em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Papa John’s Buffalo Chicken Pizza Earns the 2013 Nation’s Restaurant News MenuMasters Award for Best Limited-Time Offer</h1></div></div><div id="story_body" style="background-color: white; clear: both; color: #272727; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; line-height: 1.8em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div id="story_text_top" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div id="dateline" style="float: left; font-size: 1.3em; padding: 0px;">LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- </div><div style="font-size: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">Adding to its list of recent prestigious industry awards, Papa John’s International (NASDAQ: PZZA) this week was honored by <i style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Nation’s Restaurant News</i> with its 2013 MenuMasters Award in the category of Best Limited-Time Offer for its Buffalo Chicken Pizza.</div><div style="font-size: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">“We are honored to have this very popular pizza recognized by <i style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Nation’s Restaurant News</i>,” said John Schnatter, Papa John’s Founder, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “Our franchisees, R&D and marketing teams, along with many other departments worked collaboratively to develop, market and launch our Buffalo Chicken Pizza, so this truly is a systemwide achievement. ‘Better Ingredients. Better Pizza.’ is what we strive for every day. It’s both thrilling and humbling when our efforts are recognized by consumers and throughout the industry.”</div><div style="font-size: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">Papa John’s rolled-out its Buffalo Chicken Pizza as an LTO at more than 3,000 restaurants in the U.S. last April. It proved so popular with consumers that the company introduced it again in September to kick off the NFL season. Since then, Papa John’s Buffalo Chicken Pizza has launched in several international markets, including the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.</div><div style="font-size: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;"></div><div style="font-size: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">“When selecting MenuMasters awardees, we don’t only take into consideration culinary ingenuity, but also the likely impact of the candidates on foodservice as a whole,” <i style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Nation’s Restaurant News</i> Senior Food Editor, Bret Thorn said in a press release announcing the award winners. “This year’s winners are a great mix of terrific new proteins, creative flavor combinations and adjustments to menus that are likely to pave the way for further innovation.”</div><div style="font-size: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">The MenuMasters Award is the third prominent award Papa John’s has earned for its 2012 performance. In March 2012, Papa John’s was named Brand of the Year in the Pizza Chain Category of the 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend Study, and in June 2012 the brand was named tops in customer satisfaction among limited-service restaurants in the 2012 American Customer Satisfaction Index (<a href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theacsi.org%2F&esheet=50582429&lan=en-US&anchor=ACSI&index=1&md5=36629b7bfade67f6b77eda46f998f47e" style="color: #243a76; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">ACSI</a>). It was the 11<sup style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">th</sup>time in the past 13 years Papa John’s had achieved that honor.</div><div style="font-size: 1.3em; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">Headquartered in Louisville, Kentucky, Papa John's International, Inc. (NASDAQ: PZZA) is the world's third largest pizza company. For 11 of the past 13 years, consumers have rated Papa John's No. 1 in customer satisfaction among all national pizza chains in the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI). Papa John's also earned the 2012 Harris Poll EquiTrend® Pizza Brand of the Year. Papa John’s is the Official Pizza Sponsor of the National Football League and Super Bowl XLVII. For more information about the company or to order pizza online, visit Papa John's at <a href="http://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.papajohns.com&esheet=50582429&lan=en-US&anchor=www.papajohns.com&index=2&md5=aa3278cb94dc6ed01770e3bb7aa0b1b3" style="color: #243a76; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none;">www.papajohns.com</a>.</div></div></div></div>

Papa John’s Buffalo Chicken Pizza Papa John’s Buffalo Chicken Pizza

Papa John’s Buffalo Chicken Pizza Earns the 2013 Nation’s Restaurant News MenuMasters Award for Best Limited-Time Offer LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- ...

Florida man feared dead after sinkhole swallows him

8:18 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><img alt="Police tape surrounds a home where a sinkhole opened up and swallowed a man in Seffner, Florida, March 1, 2013. REUTERS-Brian Blanco" src="http://s1.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20130301&t=2&i=708824162&w=&fh=&fw=&ll=700&pl=300&r=CBRE9201JHI00" /><br /><span class="focusParagraph" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans;"></span><br /><div style="font-size: 20px; line-height: 1.5; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">(Reuters) - A Florida man was missing and feared dead on Friday after a large sinkhole suddenly engulfed the bedroom of his suburban Tampa home, police and fire officials said.</div><span id="midArticle_1" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans;"></span><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">Jeff Bush, 36, was in his room sleeping and the other five members of the household were getting ready for bed on Thursday night when they heard a loud crash and Jeff screaming.</div><span id="midArticle_2" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans;"></span><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">Jeff's brother, 35-year-old Jeremy Bush, jumped into the hole and furiously kept digging to find his brother.</div><span id="midArticle_3" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans;"></span><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">"I feel in my heart he didn't make it," Jeremy told Tampa TV station WFTS. "There were six of us in the house; five got out."</div><span id="midArticle_4" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans;"></span><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">Jeremy himself had to be rescued from the sinkhole by the first responder to the emergency call, Douglas Duvall of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. When Duvall entered Jeff Bush's bedroom, all he saw was a widening chasm but no sign of Jeff.</div><span id="midArticle_5" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans;"></span><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">"The hole took the entire bedroom," said Duvall. "You could see the bedframe, the dresser, everything was sinking," he said.</div><span id="midArticle_6" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans;"></span><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">Norman Wicker, 48, the father of Jeremy's fiancée who also lived in the house, ran to get a flashlight and shovel.</div><span id="midArticle_7" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans;"></span><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">"It sounded like a car ran into the back of the house," Wicker said.</div><span id="midArticle_8" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans;"></span><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">Authorities had not detected any signs of life after lowering listening devices and cameras into the hole and rescue efforts were suspended after the site was deemed too unsafe for emergency personnel to enter.</div><span id="midArticle_9" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans;"></span><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">"There is a very large, very fluid mass underneath this house rendering the entire house and the entire lot dangerous and unsafe," Bill Bracken, the head of an engineering company assisting fire and rescue officials, told the news conference late on Friday.</div><span id="midArticle_10" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans;"></span><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">"We are still trying to determine the extent and nature of what's down there so we can best determine how to approach it and how to extricate," Bracken said.</div><span id="midArticle_11" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans;"></span><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">Several nearby homes were evacuated in case the 30-foot (9-meter) wide sinkhole got larger but officials said it only appeared to be getting deeper.</div><span id="midArticle_12" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans;"></span><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">The Bush brothers worked together as landscapers, according to Leland Wicker, 48, one of the other residents of the house.</div><span id="midArticle_13" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans;"></span><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">The risk of sinkholes is common in Florida due to the state's porous geological bedrock, according to the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. As rainwater filters down into the ground, it dissolves the rock causing erosion that can lead to underground caverns, which cause sinkholes when they collapse.</div><span id="midArticle_14" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans;"></span><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">Florida suffered one of its worst sinkhole accidents in 1994 when a 15-story-deep chasm opened up east of Tampa at a phosphate mine. It created a hole 185 feet deep and as much as 160 feet wide. Locals dubbed it Disney World's newest attraction - 'Journey to the Center of the Earth.'</div><span id="midArticle_15" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans;"></span><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">In 1981 in Winter Park near Orlando, a sinkhole was measured as 320 feet wide and 90 feet deep, swallowing a two-story house, part of a Porsche dealership, and an Olympic-size swimming pool. The site is now an artificial lake in the city.</div><span id="midArticle_0" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans;"></span><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">"Mortgage companies are more and more requiring Florida home buyers to have sinkhole coverage on their homeowners insurance policy," said K.C. Williams, a Tampa sinkhole and property damage claims lawyer who lives 2 miles away from the damaged home.</div><span id="midArticle_1" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans;"></span><div style="background-color: white; font-family: arial, helvetica, sans; font-size: 14px; line-height: 1.6; margin-bottom: 10px; padding: 0px;">(Additional reporting by David Adams and Tom Brown; Writing by Kevin Gray; Editing by Tom Brown and Lisa Shumaker)</div></div>

sinkhole Florida man feared dead after sinkhole swallows him

(Reuters) - A Florida man was missing and feared dead on Friday after a large sinkhole suddenly engulfed the bedroom of his suburban Tampa h...

'One Day At a Time' star Bonnie Franklin dies at 69

8:18 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><h2 class="lead-in" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 18px; font-style: italic; font-weight: normal; line-height: 27px; margin-left: 60px; margin-top: -2px;">Red-haired actress was best known for her starring role in the 1975-84 sitcom.</h2><div class="article-metadata-wrap" style="background-color: white; color: #222222; float: left; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 16px; height: auto; line-height: 22px; margin: 0px 30px 0px 60px; position: relative;"><aside class="single-photo expandable-collapsed" itemprop="associatedMedia" itemscope="" itemtype="http://schema.org/ImageObject" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 20px; position: relative; width: 180px; z-index: 100;"><div class="image-wrap" style="box-shadow: rgb(200, 200, 200) 1px 1px 5px; cursor: pointer; padding: 3px; position: relative;"><img alt="franklin" class="expand-img-horiz" itemprop="url" src="http://www.gannett-cdn.com/media/USATODAY/USATODAY/2013/03/01/bonniefranklin-4_3_r536_c534.jpg?1b79b3da202957124496e3768cfb7b67cdb10c81" style="border: 0px; max-width: 100%; min-height: 131px; vertical-align: middle;" /><span class="toggle" style="background-image: url(http://www.gannett-cdn.com/static/images/sprites/asset-sprite.png?1359747063); background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; bottom: 0px; height: 21px; position: absolute; right: 0px; width: 21px; z-index: 200;"></span></div><div class="image-credit-wrap" style="color: #646464; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 16px; margin-top: 6px; padding: 0px 5px 0px 0px;"><span class="credit" style="font-style: italic; font-weight: 400;">(Photo: CBS)</span></div></aside><div class="article-metadata" style="position: relative;"><aside class="comp story-highlights " style="clear: left; float: left; margin: 0px 0px 20px; min-height: 60px; width: 180px;"><h3 class="hlts" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 212, 212); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #999999; font-family: 'Futura Today Bold', arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 25px; margin: 0px auto; text-transform: uppercase;">STORY HIGHLIGHTS</h3><ul class="hlt" style="color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; left: 0px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><li class="hlt-item" style="background-image: url(http://www.gannett-cdn.com/static/images/components/story_highlights_bullets.png?1359747063); background-position: 0px 17px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 212, 212); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #646464; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 16px; padding: 12px 0px 12px 15px;">Family member say she died due to complications from pancreatic cancer</li><li class="hlt-item" style="background-image: url(http://www.gannett-cdn.com/static/images/components/story_highlights_bullets.png?1359747063); background-position: 0px 17px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border-bottom-color: rgb(212, 212, 212); border-bottom-style: dotted; border-bottom-width: 1px; color: #646464; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 16px; padding: 12px 0px 12px 15px;">Her Norman Lear sitcom helped change TV's stereotypical image of mothers</li><li class="hlt-item" style="background-image: url(http://www.gannett-cdn.com/static/images/components/story_highlights_bullets.png?1359747063); background-position: 0px 17px; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; border: 0px; color: #646464; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 16px; padding: 12px 0px 12px 15px;">Her co-stars included Mackenzie Phillips and Valerie Bertinelli</li></ul></aside></div></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">TV just lost one of its first modern mothers.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">Before Bonnie Franklin — who died Friday at the age of 69 of pancreatic cancer — and her hit Norman Lear sitcom <i>One Day at a Time </i>arrived on the scene, most television mothers were either stay-at-home wives or working widows. But Franklin's Ann Romano was something new: a divorced mother of two raising two teenage daughters in a small urban apartment while struggling to relaunch her career and her love life.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">In a TV universe just beginning to take note of the real-world social changes happening beyond its screen, the sunny but sometimes hot-tempered Ann and the short, spunky redhead who played her were a breath of fresh (if sometimes hot) air. For nine CBS seasons, from 1975 to 1984, Franklin guided audiences through some of the hot-button issues of the day — premarital sex, sexual harassment, child abandonment — in a show that mixed comedy and soap in equal measure.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">Franklin didn't get to sing much on <i>One Day at a Time</i>; a shame, as she garnered a Tony nomination for <i>Applause</i>, a musical adaptation of <i>All About Eve</i>. But she did get to provide parental guidance to two of TV's most fondly remembered teens, bad girl Julie (Mackenzie Phillips) and good-girl Barbara (Valerie Bertinelli), sometimes with the unrequested help of the building's super (Pat Harrington Jr.).</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">Though <i>Day</i> is what's she's best known for, it was far from Franklin's debut. She had a recurring role in <i>Gidget</i> while she was still a college student, and guest roles in such '60s series as <i>The Munsters, The Man From U.N.C.L.E.</i> and <i>Please Don't Eat the Daisies</i>. But it was that Tony nomination in New York that really brought her to Hollywood's attention, and her role in <i>Day </i>that made her a TV star and Emmy nominee.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">Like many of the topical sitcoms of the '70s, <i>Day</i> has not aged well. What was novel then is now either familiar or forgotten. In truth, in some quarters, it's only still discussed because of the real-world troubles that caused Phillips to be written out of the show twice.</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">Still, the thought of Franklin shaking her red bob, scrunching her eyes, pursing her lips, or shouting out "Julie!" can still bring a smile to people who grew up with her and Bertinelli — who gave Franklin one of her last roles, in a guest shot in <i>Hot in Cleveland.</i></div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-bottom: 15px; margin-left: 60px;">She made our TV days better, and for that, she'll always be remembered.</div></div>

Bonnie Franklin 'One Day At a Time' star Bonnie Franklin dies at 69

Red-haired actress was best known for her starring role in the 1975-84 sitcom. (Photo: CBS) STORY HIGHLIGHTS Family member say she died due ...

Watch the Miami Heat do the 'Harlem Shake'

8:16 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /></div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Ir2TdfSwH8g?feature=player_embedded" width="640"></iframe><br /><br /><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">The Miami Heat joined the recent "Harlem Shake" craze, making a team video that they released Thursday that showcases their dance skills and sense of humor.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">Their version features Chris "Birdman" Anderson dancing around the locker room while the other players stretch or sit by their lockers. Then the camera cuts to the whole team dancing in costume. </div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;"><a href="http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/1966/lebron-james" style="color: #2262cc; text-decoration: none;">LeBron James</a> is dressed up like a king, <a href="http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/3419/mario-chalmers" style="color: #2262cc; text-decoration: none;">Mario Chalmers</a> is dressed as Super Mario, <a href="http://espn.go.com/nba/player/_/id/1135/chris-andersen" style="color: #2262cc; text-decoration: none;">Chris "Birdman" Andersen</a> dons a bird ensemble, <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/sports/basketball/dwyane-wade-PESPT008417.topic" id="PESPT008417" style="color: #666666; text-decoration: none;" title="Dwyane Wade">Dwyane Wade</a> is wearing a bear head, and <a class="taxInlineTagLink" href="http://www.latimes.com/topic/sports/basketball/ray-allen-PESPT000116.topic" id="PESPT000116" style="color: #666666; text-decoration: none;" title="Ray Allen">Ray Allen</a> has a "Phantom of the Opera"-style mask</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">As of Friday morning, the video had over 2 million views. </div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">"In life u gotta figure out how to have fun and enjoy it. Hope y'all enjoy," Chalmers wrote on Twitter.</div><div style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 20px; margin-bottom: 10px; margin-top: 10px; padding: 0px;">The Heat, which has won 12 games in a row, host Memphis on Friday at 5 p.m. PST.</div></div>

Miami Heat do the 'Harlem Shake' Watch the Miami Heat do the 'Harlem Shake'

The Miami Heat joined the recent "Harlem Shake" craze, making a team video that they released Thursday that showcases their dance ...

Obama, congressional leaders fail to reach deal on sequester

7:51 PM Tukiyooo 0

<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><br /><h1 property="dc.title" style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 2.5em; line-height: 1.2em; margin: 0px 0px 4px; padding: 0px;"><img src="http://img.washingtonpost.com/rf/image_606w/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2013/03/01/National-Politics/Videos/Images/517824840.jpg" /></h1><div><div class="module byline" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-style: none; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 10px; margin: 0px 0px 17px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><h3 property="dc.creator" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia; font-size: 1.2em; font-weight: normal; margin: 17px 0px; padding: 0px;">By <span class="author vcard" style="color: #666666;"><span class="fn"><a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/zachary-a-goldfarb/2011/03/09/AB1OHIQ_page.html" rel="author" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;">Zachary A. Goldfarb</a></span></span>, <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-meets-congressional-leaders-on-sequester/2013/03/01/fa25a440-827b-11e2-b99e-6baf4ebe42df_story.html#license-fa25a440-827b-11e2-b99e-6baf4ebe42df" id="license-fa25a440-827b-11e2-b99e-6baf4ebe42df" rel="item-license" style="color: black; text-decoration: none;"></a><span class="timestamp updated processed" comparetime="1362189420000" contenttype="article" datetitle="published" epochtime="1362150240000" pagetype="leaf" style="color: #6e6e6e;"></span><span class="timestamp updated processed" comparetime="1362150240000" contenttype="article" datetitle="updated" epochtime="1362189420000" pagetype="leaf" style="color: #6e6e6e;">Updated: Friday, March 1, <span class="time special" style="color: #cc131e;">5:57 PM</span></span></h3></div><div class="relative" id="article" style="background-color: white; font-family: arial; font-size: 12px; line-height: 10px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; position: relative;"><div id="article_body" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><div class="article_body entry-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><article><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;"><span class="dateline"></span>President Obama acknowledged Friday that deep federal budget cuts are here with no end in sight, an outcome that he warned would harm the economy but said he lacked the power to stop.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">A final attempt to find common ground with congressional leaders at a White House meeting proved fruitless. The president continued to press for higher taxes as part of a deal, and Republicans continued to refuse — clearing the way for $85 billion in cuts this fiscal year and $1.2 trillion over the next decade.</div></article></div><div class="article_body entry-content" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><article><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;"><br />The reductions, which Obama formally ordered late Friday, are likely to remain in place for the foreseeable future. There had been speculation that they might be adjusted later this month, when lawmakers must agree on a new deal to fund the government or risk a shutdown. But Obama made clear Friday that he would seek to avoid a shutdown even if that means allowing the across-the-board cuts, known as the sequester, to continue.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">The failure to reach a deal to turn off the sequester after years of clashes over spending and taxes will usher in an era of deeper austerity in the United States. To date, the country has resisted the sharp pullback in federal spending that has occurred in much of Europe.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">The onset of the sequester also will introduce a new level of uncertainty for Americans who rely on the government for employment or services, with an outsize impact in the Washington region.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">For Obama, the failure to reach a deal is a setback. He has spent years arguing that efforts to tame the nation’s debt should involve a balance of spending cuts and tax revenues. As things stand now, the onset of the sequester means that balance tilts heavily toward cuts.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">Polls shows Obama has broad support among Americans for his approach to taxes and spending. Over coming weeks, senior administration officials said, he will highlight people and localities hurt by the sequester, with the intention of creating pressure to force Republicans to concede. But the president said that could take months.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">“It’s happening because of a choice that Republicans in Congress have made,” Obama said in the White House briefing room after the meeting with congressional leaders broke up. “They’ve allowed these cuts to happen because they refuse to budge on closing a single wasteful loophole to help reduce the deficit.”</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">The GOP is able to say it defied the president, avoiding his demand for new tax revenue. The standoff comes after deep intraparty divisions nearly tore House Republicans apart late last year in battles about whether to support tax increases.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">Republicans can say they have forced greater restraint in government spending — although it is far from the arrangement most GOP leaders wanted. Republican leaders have warned that the sequester could damage national defense and expressed frustration that it does not apply to social programs such as Medicaid and Social Security.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">Nonetheless, they say the cuts are preferable to tax increases.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 1.5em; line-height: 1.5em; margin-bottom: 22px; padding: 0px;">“Let’s make it clear that the president got his tax hikes on January 1st,” House Speaker John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) said outside the White House, referring to new taxes on the wealthy approved in January. “This discussion about revenue, in my view, is over. It’s about taking on the spending problem here in Washington.<br />”</div></article></div></div></div></div></div>

sequester Obama, congressional leaders fail to reach deal on sequester

By Zachary A. Goldfarb , Updated: Friday, March 1, 5:57 PM President Obama acknowledged Friday that deep federal budget cuts are here wit...